SC-appointed probe panel invites info on Meiyappan

The committee headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and comprising Additional Solicitor General L. Nageshwar Rao and senior advocate Nilay Dutta, met for the first time on October 11 here.

The committee, after "perusal" of the Supreme Court order, decided on its schedule of meetings. The panel, appointed in the first week of this month.

Gurunath Meiyappan.

"The schedule of the sittings of the committee and its functioning and support personnel were finalised and communicated to the BCCI," said Vidushpat Singhania, the secretary to the committee, in a statement issued by the BCCI. The committee has urged anybody with information on the fixing allegations against Meiyappan and other accused to mail it to them.

"The informants shall not be given hearing unless and until the committee thinks it fit to do so. The identity of the informant shall be kept confidential," the statement read.

The Supreme Court has directed the committee to investigate the allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the IPL matches against Gurunath Meiyappan, allegedly the team principal of Chennai Superkings, the accused players and the team owner of IPL franchisee Rajasthan Royals.

The court appointed the probe committee after the Cricket Association of Bihar filed a petition against the BCCI probe panel, which exonerated Meiyappan and team owners but handed varied bans to the cricketers.

The cricketers who were banned included former Test pacer S Sreesanth. The two-member BCCI probe panel of Justice T. Jayarama Chouta and Justice R. Balasubramanian, former judges of the Madras High Court, gave a clean chit to Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL betting scandal.